The UN peacekeeping mission in Mali has temporarily suspended flights.
This will affect the delivery of aid to the country whose neighbours have imposed sanctions and closed borders.
The peacekeeping mission has about 13,000 troops stationed in the country trying to contain an Islamist insurgency in the region.
The European Union has also said it will impose sanctions and the UN has said it is essential for the military authorities to present an acceptable election schedule.

The federal government has limited companies involved in the trade or business of gas utilisation in downstream operations in the country to a once in a lifetime tax-free regime, according to the latest changes effected in the Finance Act, 2021.
The new law states that additional investment, re-organisation or other forms of corporate restructuring shall not qualify for a further tax incentive under the gas investment programme.
Such companies are further barred from similar incentives under any other sections of the Companies Income Tax Act or other law.
Companies engaged in upstream petroleum operations however would continue to have obligation to withhold VAT, even when they have not commenced commercial operations or have not reached N25 million turnover.

President Muhammadu Buhari moved against criminal elements in the country when he instructed the military to go after terrorists and kidnappers with force.
The president ordered an immediate major military operation in Niger State, which has, for instance, faced continued attacks on its communities by bandits and remnants of Boko Haram terrorists, fleeing theatres of war in the Northwestern and Northeastern parts of the country.
He directed the Defence Headquarters a few days ago, to respond robustly to the cases of killings and kidnappings in the Niger State and to give effect to the strategic objectives through the use of force.

Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has offered to support the Federal Government to end terrorism and other evils in the country.
Tinubu made the pledge when he visited Katsina State to condole with the State Government and people of the state over the gruesome murder of the State Commissioner of Science, Technology and Innovation, Dr Rabe Nasir as well as the recent insecurity upsurge in the state.
He urged residents to share relevant information to security agencies on suspicious movements of characters urging residents to continue preaching for peace, change their attitudes and support leaders with determination to bring terrorism to its knees.

Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to use his good offices and leadership position to direct the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed to provide the organization with a copy of the agreement recently signed with Twitter, Inc, and to widely publish the details of any such agreement.
SERAP also urged him to direct Alhaji Lai Mohammed to clarify the manner and scope in which the agreement with Twitter will be enforced, including whether the agreement incorporates respect for human rights, consistent with the Nigerian Constitution 1999 [as amended] and international obligations

The Federal Government has asked Saudi Arabia to lift the travel restrictions it imposed on Nigerian travellers following the outbreak of the omicron variant of the COVID-19 in South Africa that was later discovered among some travellers said to have visited Nigeria.
Ambassador Zubairu Dada, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, urged the Saudi Authorities to review the travel restrictions it placed on Nigerians over the Omicron outbreak as already done by many countries who have earlier banned Nigeria.
The Minister expressed optimism for a timely response to Nigeria’s request from Saudi Arabia.

The United Kingdom’s domestic intelligence service has alleged that a woman suspected of working on behalf of China’s governing Communist Party has sought to improperly influence members of the UK’s Parliament.
House of Commons Speaker Lindsay Hoyle’s office said that MI5 had found that the woman has been engaged in political interference activities on behalf of the Chinese Communist Party.
Hoyle added that the Chinese national had engaged with legislators and facilitated financial donations to serving and aspiring Parliamentarians on behalf of foreign nationals based in Hong Kong and China.

The United States Supreme Court has blocked Joe Biden’s effort to require employees at large businesses to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo weekly testing.
The top court also ruled in favour of allowing the federal government to proceed with a vaccine mandate for most healthcare workers in the country.
The court says the Biden administration overstepped its authority by seeking to impose the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s rule requiring workers at US businesses with at least 100 employees to either be vaccinated or tested weekly.

The World Health Organization has added two more drugs to its guidelines for recommended treatments for COVID-19, as the more infectious Omicron variant of the coronavirus triggers an unprecedented surge in cases around the world.
The drug baricitinib used to treat rheumatoid arthritis is strongly recommended for patients with severe or critical COVID-19, in combination with corticosteroids, The UN agency’s panel of international experts said the drug reduces the need for ventilation and had been found to improve patients’ chances of survival with no sign of an increase in adverse reactions.
The panel also gave a conditional recommendation for sotrovimab, an experimental monoclonal antibody treatment, for those with non-severe COVID-19 but at the very highest risk of hospital admission.

The European Union says it will impose sanctions on Mali after the military leaders who carried out last year's coup went back on a pledge to hold elections next month.
The EU’s foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, says despite all the warnings to the Malian authorities there'd been no sign of progress.
He says the sanctions were also in response to the arrival of Russian private military contractors.
The EU says despite the sanctions it plans to keep soldiers in Mali.